It’s all adding up in Ivanpah

Multiple solar energy projects can be too much for one region to handle

On the blistering hot, sun-drenched surface, deserts seem like an ideal place for solar energy development. The climate in such regions makes them inhospitable to humans and the arid land is largely unusable for agricultural endeavors.

The fragile habitat of the Mojave Desert.

But if one looks close enough to see beyond immediately perceptible utilitarian purposes, it becomes quite readily apparent that desert landscapes have much more to offer than simply sun, sand and cracked land. The Mojave, for example, located in southern California and southern Nevada, harbors some of the country’s greatest biodiversity. Until the relatively new increase and expansion of renewable energy projects, the Mojave region has remained in largely natural condition. In fact, in a recent study, The Nature Conservancy found that 87 percent of the lands in the Mojave Desert have high conservation value, making them among the least disturbed ecoregions in the U.S.

As these study results suggest, despite human intolerance of the climate in the region, many species of wildlife thrive in the extreme temperatures and geographical features that characterize the Mojave. The desert tortoise, horned lizard, Mojave fringe-toed lizard, golden eagle, Mojave ground squirrel, bighorn sheep and several riparian birds are just a few of the species (many of them threatened or endangered) that call the Mojave home.

Within the Mojave, the Ivanpah Valley has been identified as a critical link between conservation areas for one of the region’s most endangered inhabitants, the desert tortoise. At the same time, the Ivanpah Valley is also under mounting pressure from development of many kinds, including such land use impacts as multiple high-acreage renewable energy projects, electricity and gas transmission lines, a wastewater treatment project, airport and a high-speed rail line.

Some of the best places for the threatened desert tortoise habitat are also prime for solar energy.

The uniqueness of the Mojave and all sensitive desert landscapes comes from a fragile ecosystem balance, a balance that is easily disturbed and hard to recover. So, not surprisingly, all of these current and potential impacts are beginning to add up in Ivanpah, and are causing some real disturbance to the region and its wildlife, especially the desert tortoise. Just last month, the Brightsource Ivanpah Solar Project – the first and largest utility-scale solar project on public lands approved by the Obama Administration – began its first system tests to deliver power to the grid. The project, which covers some 3,500 acres of public land (more than 2,650 football fields-worth), is projected to cut 13.5 million tons of carbon emissions over 30 years.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently reviewing right-of-way applications for two additional large-scale solar energy projects in the Ivanpah Valley: the Silver State South Project in Nevada and the Stateline Solar Farm in California. These projects will impact approximately 2,500 and 1,700 more acres of federal land, respectively, as well as up to 2,115 tortoises, combined. Defenders is protesting the approval of the Silver State South project because it is in a location that supports a significant population of threatened desert tortoises, encompasses high quality habitat, and, most importantly, compromises the most important remaining habitat linkage for the desert tortoise in the Ivanpah Valley.

While renewable energy development is key to the future of our country’s fossil-fuel free energy independence, it must not and need not come at the expense of the continued existence of wildlife and the integrity of our public lands. Proper siting of large-scale projects is critical.

In addition to our letter to the BLM protesting the Silver State South project, we have also sent a letter to the Department of the Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notifying them of our intent to pursue legal action against the agencies for violating the Endangered Species Act by approving both of these projects in the Ivanpah Valley. Based on the best available science and statements made by the FWS, these two large-scale solar projects will fundamentally undermine that recovery and threaten the very survival of the desert tortoise population.

At-risk wildlife and habitats in the Ivanpah Valley have already been lost by decades of land development and human use, and significant threats to what remains are imminent. Thus it is essential that before making decisions about new projects like Silver State and Stateline, the BLM needs to first prepare and implement a landscape-level ecosystem conservation plan for the greater Ivanpah Valley. Such an approach should prioritize ecosystem and species conservation over continued land development, and perhaps give the desert tortoise and other sensitive wildlife in Ivanpah Valley a fighting chance to survive long into the future.

Courtney Sexton is a Communications Associate for Defenders of Wildlife

Courtney focuses on issues tied to federal/public lands, wildlife refuges and renewable energy siting, as well as those related to a myriad species throughout California, Oregon and the Southwest, her favorite being the Mexican gray wolf.

14 Responses to “It’s all adding up in Ivanpah”

How few desert tortoises are acceptable to the BLM? 1,000? 500? 150? Humans are clearing the entire world of wildlife just for the convience of themselves. We don’t need any more extinct animals especially the ones that have survived millions of years despite human intervention. Save the desert tortoises!

Can humans stop destroying what is left of animals homes? Haven’t we killed off enough species? They were there long before us and deserve to live long after us. It is give we give back not keep taking. We have enough land that is occupied by humans to put new energy sources.

Thank you for standing up for wildlife, and promoting a more sustainable approach to renewable energy deployment. Solar panels can find a home just about anywhere, so there is no need to destroy such an important habitat linkage for these projects.

The future of our own Desert Tortoises is getting more and more bleak as time goes by. This is just too sad. Thanks to those involved in this well informed and well written article. Wish it was better news for the tortoise.

The utility companies or industrial wind and solar don’t care about the wildlife, period. It’s about installing infrastructure to build out and create more cities. Here in Tehachapi the infrastructure is now established at great cost to the environment. At the same time the Kern County Planning Commission and Supervisors continue to expand the areas that they plan to build out in their General Plan. This is all it’s about and the same is happening on the CA/NV border near Pahrump and along the 15 fwy at the CA/NV borders. It’s about population growth plain and simple. To hell with the pesky wildlife and the meager ground water. The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services are facilitating the energy developers every step of the way. The Endangered Species Act, North American Migratory Bird Treaty, Mojave Desert Conservation Plan and also the Wilderness Act have all been gutted or slashed. In 2005, the Wilderness Act was established through careful selection of wildland that were intended to be kept for future generations for the unique value. The entire House of Representatives and Senate voted it in. Last year Bright Source solar proposed a solar project between 2 wilderness areas, the Pahrump Valley Wilderness and the Nopah Wilderness – real nice frying birds that cross from one mountain range to the other. http://www.wilderness.net/NWPS/documents/publiclaws/PDF/103-433.pdf

The key to ending the carnage is to demand that our Congress stop subsidizing the developers. They all end up getting bought by companies like Google, Berkshire Hathaway and Barclays Bank. The tax incentives plus depreciation and property tax treated as raw unimproved land rather than multi billion dollar valuation have these companies lined up for government handouts.

The desert tortoises are also threatened by military exercises at the National Training Center, Ft. Irwin, CA. I have seen their entire battlefield come to a complete stop for the tortoise, but unfortunately, I am also aware of uneducated/uncaring commanders of visiting units from other states that look the other way when they see the tortoises so as to not stop training.

Too many humans assume that the desert holds no wildlife at all or no “important” wildlife. Tortoises are keystone species in many different habitats, all over the country, that tell us how healthy the environment is. How many tortoises is it acceptable to kill each year for the benefit of training our military?

I spent many vacations with my Dad in the desert. It is a beautiful environment with so much flora and fauna to explore and learn about. I find it disgusting that we as human will not be happy until we have killed and destroyed every last place and creature on this planet except us. We when it all stop? Not until there is nothing left! I think we need a drastic thinning of “our” herd!

You all understand that some of these ‘save the turtle’ comments are burn-stuff-for-energy industry funded. As an environmentalist, I am disappointed to see the push back against one of the few solutions to mass pollution and climate change. Let’s volunteer and move some turtles. And then let the turtles bask in the shade of some panels when the project is done. Let’s look at the big picture. Limiting large solar is a huge mistake. Please consider the big picture. In the meantime my donations will be focused on organizations that do. Thank you.

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